India Pale Ale
North End Tavern & Brewery

 

appearance: pours a hazy slighty opaque brownish copper, decently carbonated with a off-white creamy foam that leaves slight lacing.

smell: hops are light yet tangy and floral, light citrus notes.

taste: begins clean, slightly watery, but medium bodied; like the scent, hops are tangy, but a more-pronounced dryness comes forward, yielding only late in the finish making for a tangy-dry bitter lingering.

overall: very good, heightened elements all around as far as the IPA traits go, definitely a good candidate for a casual IPA.

On tap at North End Tavern on 11/26/10. Listed on the board as "5-Way IPA" with an ABV of 8%.

A - Hazy pale golden liquid with orange hues and a slim white head that settled into a striped patch and yielded a modest amount of lacing.

S - Initial aroma suggests hints of pine, citrus peel, lightly toasted grains and bready notes. Caramel malt provides a touch of sweetness, while mild spicy notes and a whiff of alcohol round out the nose. Not overly aromatic for an IPA, but solid.

T - Flavor blends sweet, sticky pine and spicy hops with some peppery notes, the latter of which work nicely with the alcohol presence. The spicy character extends well into the middle, followed by a sweet malty presence and some citrus fruit too. Finishes with a distinct grainy malt character paired with a mild catbox aspect, which provides a moderate hop bite in the backend.

M - Medium bodied with an oily texture and moderate carbonation. Finish is dry and bitter on the palate. Although the bitterness doesn't camp out for too long on the 'buds, this IPA produces some tasty hop burps!

D - Fine IPA from every angle. At 8%, it's pretty beefy but still retains its drinkability quite nicely.

Appearance: orange in color with a 2" head that lasts around a long time. Some lace paints the glass.

Smell: orange citrus and floral hops create a lovely aroma.

Taste: caramel, pears, strong orange, and a nice floral bitterness creates a well balanced IPA.

Mouthfeel: medium bodied beer. Crisp to start, less crisp and a bit dry at the finish. Short aftertaste as the orange citrus remains on the tongue.

Drinkability: easy to quaff this beer. Several of these could be consumed in a session. Enjoyable beer.

So far this is my beer of 2010. 8.5% abv with 75 ibu's but it is smooth with a nice bouquet and the alcohol is not omnipresent. All in all a very fine beer. New brewer Chris Hopkins has been on the job for a year now and has really turned things around. I would disregard all former reviews and only go by the ones that are recent. The NET is now a go to place with excellent beer and very fine bar food that won't put a dent in your wallet.

The newest brewmaster has really kicked the beers up a notch at the NET. This IPA is excellent. Lovely orange-golden color, with a stong, fresh hop aroma. White head that drops fairly quickly, but laces nicely. Very nice level of bitterness up front smoothed down with hop flavor. This brew is all about the cascades.

Pours a nice light copper/golden liquid with a bit of decent head and some great lacing throughout. Very hoppy aroma, a lot of citrus with a very big dollop if grass. Nice flavor, a huge burst of grapefruit at the front and at the end; not much else except for a very slight grassy hop flavor; it had a bit of malt to it, but could have used a fair bit more for more of a malt background to match its extreme hoppiness; even considering it's a 7% beer it needed more filling grains of some kind. Went down quite smooth and refreshing, without a lot of hop roughness as expected from the high hop, low malt.

EDIT for BeerSpy -- Black Bear Burritos, Morgantown, WV.

Ok another live review via the cell phone. This brew is a apple juice color with a rocky white head, nice lacing. Smell is hops and wild grapes. Taste is hops and white grapes, some malt for balance and a light bitterness. Mouthfeel is crisp and refreshing and the beer is on a medium body. Overall this reminds me of a English IPA.